http://faultline.org/index.php/site/index/ Writing and Photography from the Mojave Desert en Chris Clarke crn@faultline.org Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:30:13 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52600 This article articulates so many aspects of where we are right now in our ecological place in the world.  With a thimble full of people conscious of the footprint of our lifestyle and the masses trying to attain that lifestyle as fast as they can.  How many times have we heard, “doesn’t stand a chance.”  In regards to invasive species, are we fighting against a tidal wave? Early settlers brought many invasive species intentional or not.  We are at a very critical point in growth…the old way of chomping out our needs out of the earth and the new way of finding a sustainable way to living on this planet with a finite amount of resources.  If we, at the top, don’t figure it out, don’t expect those with the least to jump into the fray. Jean Kaiwi Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:30:13 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/morongo_bill_visits_ivanpah/#52599 I just returned from my trip out there. I can’t believe they want to put a freaking airport in the valley.  And why? So more idiots can go to Las Vegas. Obscene. Anthony Edwards Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:22:05 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52598 There are many desert activists who have the technical chops to argue for alternatives, and this information will be getting out to them in the DPC’s Educational Bulletin. Chris Clarke Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:08:32 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52597 I am blown away by this info.  Beautifully written.  My only problem is that all these wonderful comments, appreciating to such a fantastic degree the information - are all written by the choir.  I see no comments from the solar energy advocates indicating tht they have read, or appreciate, this information.  Hope you can get it to them - and to any and all committees,commissions, or judges who will be approving the energy plants.  We need more energy and solar is a great way to go - but whether wind or solar, must we destroy that which we can never get back again??  Its important that not only do we point out the problems - are there those among us who have the technical knowledge to suggest alternatives to destroying these fragile systems? Susan March Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:01:03 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52592 Chris, This is a valuable as well as beautiful piece.  I am looking forward to our publication of it in the Desert Protective Council Spring Newsletter.  Thank you. Terry terry Weiner Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:31:09 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/letter/#52587 Beautiful Post, Chris. It pulls at my heart. If only we had a time machine and the retrospective wisdom to go back, stop and appreciate the important moments. Jan Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:29:57 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/letter/#52584 I don’t know why you think you’ve lost touch with him.  We hear from him all the time. sherwood Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:38:32 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/morongo_bill_visits_ivanpah/#52577 Thanks, Chris. Really great post by Morongo Bill. I like Canis Latransient. It’s perfect. And very funny. Beth Lowe Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:10:32 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/morongo_bill_visits_ivanpah/#52575 Thanks very much, Chris. And you’re welcome and others as well any time to come along. I would’ve enjoyed some company the day before this trip while at Teutonia Peak, 35 degrees and 10-15 mph winds, you know, misery loves company ;-)Just kidding, I really enjoyed that day! Bill Mcdonald Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:19:17 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/morongo_bill_visits_ivanpah/#52573 Certainly the desert has a beauty all it’s own.  Thanks for sharing. Hard to believe that it is somewhat besieged by development. Bill Bill Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:22:37 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/naming_the_joshua2/#52571 Nice find. I know you know this, Chris, but it’s perhaps worth mentioning that The American Naturalist is still published (though it doesn’t carry many flower descriptions any more!). Really looking forward to the whole book in one holdable paper package. Sven DiMilo Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:38:36 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/PCT/#52570 i wish i could share w/ you a couple of google earth placemarks - but i can’t figure out how to do it.  if you search on google earth for ‘carnegie vehicular recreation park’, it will bring you to a fake location nearby the real location - which you can find a mile or two to the east of it. the real location is an enormous scar in the planet.  this park is slated for a huge expansion - into one of the most ecologically sensitive areas within 200 miles of the bay area - the only known location for a large number of rare and endangered species. off road vehicle recreation has received an enormous amount of money to expand in many directions in california, and the whole thing is receiving very little publicity and plenty of whitewash. it makes me nauseous everytime i think of it - and the void of a response from my repeated requests to enter these public lands to do some botanical assessments. pete veilleux Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:00:29 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52569 i spent the day today checking out huizaches - one of the most common [and beautiful] chapparal/desert trees here in Guanajuato. after searching all day, i found a single nursery which carried them.  they were so tiny - mostly under a foot tall - and i asked how old they were, and they told me that they had been planted by seed 12 years ago. my job now is to sell them to someone who regularly purchases mature trees weighing thousands of pounds which can only be moved by large cranes.  no problem…  thank you for this fascinating piece which i’m going to forward to quite a few people who think nothing of bulldozing the desert to build another ‘trophy’ house. pete veilleux Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:32:29 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/morongo_bill_visits_ivanpah/#52568 Coyote Crossing-Guard. HP Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:06:01 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52567 Amazing, just amazing. Dave Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:32:34 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52563 nice work, Chris. kelley Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:58:56 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52562 Chris   Thanks so much for sharing this. I personally have gotten tired of hearing about all the “GREEN” companies that have sprouted up in the recent years. In my opinion, alot of them are greedy corporations trying to push their agendas through “GREEN” initiatives without any concern for the environment or surrounding areas, doesn’t sound very green to me. Living in the Antelope valley, we are reminded every day of how human disturbance is affecting the Desert.   Thanks again for the Great info. I will keep my eyes out for any blackbrush on our hikes, hopefully there may still be some in this area. Don Davis Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:26:54 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52561 My first memory of the Mojave as a six year old is seeing dust devils. The last time I was in the TOWN of Mojave, the constant prevailing 30 mph winds made walking difficult.  These solar-power dumbwits are going to “blade” away the delicate crust and plant a thicket of wobbling mirrors on the loose disturbed soil?  It seems to me that a chronic mess of dust will soon overcoat the mirrors, and also there will be choking air pollution downwind, akin to the plumes coming off the Owens Lake bed. Also, please note a minor spelling glitch, below, “brUUsh.” “Bulldog Canyon, Utah, where a fire had knocked down a thick stand of blackbruush “ omegapet Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:47:21 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52558 Hi John; I do in fact mention invasives and the grass-fire cycle throughout my writing. In fact, if I had quoted a little bit more from my draft chapter, it would have looked like this: A stand of native blackbrush will take at least fifty years, and probably far longer, to recover from wildfire. That’s assuming there are no fires afterward, and there will be. What was a diverse desert wildland becomes a monochromatic landscape of a few fire-tolerant invasive species. It is near-inevitable, and I watched the pale grasses bend beneath the earache wind, their seed-heads freeing new generations to travel downwind into yet-uninvaded forests. I told myself it was the wind filling my eyes with saltwater. Here’s another example. Chris Clarke Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:09:33 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52555 Chris, this is a remarkably beautiful essay on the importance of old-growth desert shrublands. Thank you so much for putting this out there. A lot of us have been fighting for a long time to refute the naysayers who are not concerned about desert fires, attributing them to natural causes when in fact they are the result of careless human activity and the spread of invasive weeds. I put together a analysis of the 2006 Sawtooth fire and it’s impact on native desert habits in our quarterly publication, The Chaparralian. Here’s the download link if you’d like to take a look: http://www.californiachaparral.org/images/CHAP_20_Denialists_and_Western_Sierra.pdf Thanks again for spreading the word about the importance and value of the priceless Mojave. Richard Halsey Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:59:17 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52554 That’s a great description, especially the redwood-bristlecone comparison. Thanks for deepening the picture for me that much more. Craig Craig Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:56:12 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/dietes/#52552 Truthfully, they do look horrid, but like a lot of other people on the east coast, I do prune my african iris all the way back after winter because it is impossible to just cut out what is dead after hard freezes.  Our plants are as big around as the size of a large truck tire, and cutting out the dead foliage on over 50 plants on our property would take more time than the season provides. They will come back so you just need patients.  I have divided iris in the past, but not the africans which I’ve heard can be very difficult, especially 50 plants! Lexi Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:46:14 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52551 Why not mention the invasive grass species that fuel the fires that burn the blackbush that nurse the Jo-trees that grace the sky in the house that Jack built?  That is the line in the sand, correction cryptobiotic crust.  Great article, great writing, found via twitter. John Waugh Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:24:14 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52550 You are really, really educating me about desert ecology.  As a professional ecologist I am amazed at not only the information you bring forth but the manner in which you present it. I would like to know more about the interruptions and alterations to the desert being proposed by the energy industry.  This is new information to me.  Human management of any natural ecosystem is difficult.  The relationships between animal and plant species, living species to geologic features, and geology to climate are still much too complex for us to fully understand.  I’m more than impressed with the blackbrush life cycle; a plant community older than human recorded history! Bill Bill Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:57:29 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/unexpectedly_ancient/#52543 Wow! Just… wow!! Thanks for sharing this astonishing insight, Chris. Now how do we beat this into the heads of those leading the “green energy” bandwagon marching into the desert? madhusudan Katti Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:39:35 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/how_to_write/#52539 LOVE this, especially since I’m just getting back to writing after burning out on a difficult book. Thanks very much! Marie Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:40:00 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/back_then/#52534 :-)  that’s all I ask: a wider range of hues. Thank God for the accumulation of years! It hasn’t brought wisdom yet, but it has brought color. dale Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:34:43 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52533 It may have hung for you, Harald. I have gotten many of those endless loops you describe, and the app always throws up a message saying “looks like we’re never reaching resolution on this one” or something like that. Chris Clarke Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:40:32 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52531 Hmm, interesting. I tried some of my own, and my first attempt (“Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party”) ended up not stabilizing, but cycling between two different versions (“Currently, all people in the age of the right people, we will help the party” and “Currently, the right people in the age of all people, we will help the party”) without detecting the cycle. I think that’s sloppy programming. Harald Hanche-Olsen Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:56:45 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52529 That was awesome!  Wow, the last line really blew up the translation engine :-P Livia Blackburne Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:35:46 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52527 “Since then, a long time, castle, bike, river, coast Bakkuhousu staff toilet has avoided a clergyman of Adam and Eve.” What it is with Joyce and “Bakku” in Japanese?  There’s nothing of the sort in the Wake.  (Got to love how it translated the Latin “commodius vicus” into something along the lines of “pastor toilet.”) SEK Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:07:01 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52525 Ha, Chris, when I found this site, your #1 was my first submission, too. But the result I got was completely different—something about a lucky man having his wife’s property. As for your list: your title is from Moby DIck, #1 is Pride and Prejudice, and #2 is Anna Karenina, #3 is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, #9 is 1984, and I’m going to make a wild guess that #13 is Romeo and Juliet. But otherwise, I’m stumped. nm Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:37:58 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52524 What a fun way to start my day. Thanks, Chris for the early morning smile. Jan Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:36:35 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/how_to_write/#52523 Thanks for the writing tips. You are a good teacher, especially through your own writing on this blog. I like the mix of topics that you write about. That also seems important in keeping reader’s interest and your own. I just ordered Walking with Zeke, for several reasons. You are a good marketer for your own writing and I am sure this is a good story. Also, we have a 12 and 1/2 year old Shepherd and we still take daily walks with her. She is the sweetest dog that we’ve ever had. May she have many more happy days ahead. I look forward to “meeting” Zeke. Great writing and great blog. Ellen Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:05:16 -0500 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52522 wait, and 3 you missed by a centimeter. Chris Clarke Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:45:29 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52521 jean: very good! but try again on 12. Chris Clarke Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:40:31 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/back_then/#52520 ONE OF YOUR BEST!!!!! KMTBERRY Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:59:32 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/how_to_write/#52519 Where’s the part where you get PAID? AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA I was at SXSW Interactive today (I got to go for free because I write for the Austin Chronicle) and I went to this panel about How To Make a Living Blogging, and I have to say, it was rather depressing. ALl this businessspeak about “Moneytizing your Brand” when what they really meant was “sell your soul”. Sigh. KMTBERRY Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:57:42 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52518 3 is tom sawyer, which i only got because of the rollover. 4 is catcher in the rye. 6 ulysses (but only after looking at the english) 7 kafka: the trial? 12 oliver sachs. the man who mistook his wife for a hat siriosa Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:56:01 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52517 You’re three for three, HP. Translation Party can give different results depending on punctuation and capitalization, it would seem. I got several different ones for #9 by leaving out the period and the comma in the original in various combinations. Chris Clarke Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:24:23 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52516 Apparently, by firing off a bunch of short comments one after another, I can post them in the wrong sequence. HP Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:23:30 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52514 Hrmm… Either Translation Party is not repeatable, or my guesses are wrong. HP Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:20:43 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52515 But let’s just say that the title of this post refers to Moby Dick, and I won’t even check to see if I’m right. HP Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:20:42 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/ishimaerukoru/#52513 #1 is Pride and Prejudice. #2 is Anna Karenina. That’s as far as I got. HP Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:11:48 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/how_to_write/#52507 Ah.  Good. sherwood Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:35:57 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/how_to_write/#52506 That should of course have read “if you’re lucky enough to have the opportunity.” It was supposed to imply “if you need to brush up on your skills.” I certainly meant nothing derogatory about the venue! I learned more of lasting value at Oakland’s Merritt College than I did at the State University of New York. Chris Clarke Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:14:56 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/how_to_write/#52505 “Take a class in editing at your local community college if you have to…” If you have to? sherwood Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:54:43 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/how_to_write/#52503 Chris, it feels like the advice you give here comes from taking your own advice: paying attention to what you’re doing as both a reader and a writer over a period of years. Nobody would say that a woodworker or a plumber or mechanic who’ve been at their craft for several decades don’t know their tools intimately, as well as all the different situations where they’re put into use. Words and language are our tools, but how seldom we talk about using them with this kind of attention and awareness. Thanks. May I reprint on Phoenicia? beth Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:02:59 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/how_to_write/#52502 I have never read a cereal box.  That must be what’s wrong! Bill Bill Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:58:28 -0600 http://faultline.org/index.php/site/item/how_to_write/#52501 A terrific compilation.  My own writing energies are largely directed toward poetry, but I teach comp - and I love how this advice is equally relevant for both kinds of writing.  Thank you. Lisken Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:48:56 -0600